1954 Mercedes-Benz W196 –Â $29,605,000
Weighing in at just shy of $30m, the Mercedes-Benz W196 was quite the jaw-dropper when it lit up Bonhams’ annual auction at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in 2013. Once piloted by five-time Formula 1 world champion Juan Manual Fangio, the straight-eight German monster obliterated its mooted estimation of $7.6m, and to this day remains the most expensive car to go under the hammer on British soil.